Traditional Filipina Dress - The Baro't Saya

Most Filipino men wear traditional Filipino clothes often as they don their Barong Tagalog for almost all formal functions. However, did you know that Filipinas also have their own traditional dress? The ‘baro’t saya’ (or baro at saya, sometimes even baro t saya) is a flamboyant gown commonly accepted as the unofficial national dress of Philippine women. But, unlike the Filipino barong tagalog, the traditional Filipina baro’t saya is only worn on very special occasions?

In its simplest form, the baro’t saya is a traditional Filipino blouse and skirt ensemble. This flamboyant attire is designed to be graceful and elegant to accentuate the beauty and charm of the Filipinas who choose to wear them.

Like the barong tagalog, it evolved during the Spanish colonial era, but unlike the barong, the baro’t saya is not transparent. Spanish dress codes required Filipinas to fully cover their upper body, presumably to avoid offending the sensitivities of Spanish wives.

The upper part of the ensemble is the baro, a short-sleeved, collar-less blouse. While Filipinas were not permitted the transparent materials that the dress code demanded of the male barong, theywere generally fashioned from sheer material and often elaborately embroidered. Throughout Spanish colonization this was the every-day wear of most Philippine women, certainly any Filipina of class, although the baro rather stubbornly and persistently remained sheer. Something I rather doubt many Spanish males objected to that strongly.

The lower part of the ensemble is the saya, traditionally this is a long, wrap-around skirt but there is also a shorter version, called the tapis.

These garments were and are expertly fashioned from checked or plain cotton and sometimessinamay, a fiber from the banana family, more popularly called Manila hemp, a plant indigenous to the Philippines. Just as for the barong tagalog, the materials used, and the sometimes truly flamboyant artistry required in the designs and embroidery made production a long, time-consuming process for skilled tailors.

Since Spanish times, the dress has changed slightly. The modern saya has evolved into a wider, more flared and billowy skirt. Several saya styles became popular in different Philippine regions, but probably the most popular is the "panelled saya." In the panelled saya, panels or swathes of strongly contrasting or coordinated colors are sewn alternately into a ballooning saya. The favored color combinations are black and white, and black and red. Another saya that became very popular in Northeastern Luzon and Zamboanga is the mascota skirt, a wide saya with a moderate length train.   

Maria Clara dress and ensemble 

Like much in women’s fashion, the Filipina baro’t saya has a number of variations on the ‘basic’ version, perhaps the most popular of which is the Maria Clara dress. To capture its full glory it is supplemented with a slip, (sapad) or (binabaye), an overskirt (sobrefalda) and a decorative comb. The dress is traditionally worn with a pañuelo (matching neck scarf) over the shoulders, and accessorized with a delicate abaniko (fan), an ornament which adds to the femininity and style of the Maria Clara dress design. It is typically worn during folk dance and theater performances that feature the rich cultural heritage of the Philippines. It has become one mode of traditional formal wear during political and social gatherings, and is occasionally worn by brides who wish a traditional Filipino wedding.

In addition, during the 20th century the more daring ternó was developed. This has butterfly sleeves and a streamlined, figure hugging look, mirroring the tastes and influences of American colonists. This design was immortalized and probably fixed in most peoples eyes as the ‘classic’ Filipina gown by former First Lady, Imelda Marcos, who used them to best display her beauty queen looks and figure .

Being something of a traditionalist, I would welcome a return to popularity of the panache and flamboyance of the baro’t saya. While Filipinas look lovely in just about anything, seeing a pretty lady in a traditional Maria Clara dress would make a welcome change from the jeans, cut off shorts, designer rip offs and gaudy outfits that seem to the present vogue.

Graceful and elegant to accentuate the beauty and charm of the Filipinas who wear them, the traditional Filipino dress and gowns, the baro’t saya, with modern designs such as the Maria Clara dress are breathtakingly flamboyant, even more so that the Filipino barong tagalog.

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